Tis the season for holiday cards, right? Are you looking to take your annual mailing to the next level? Look no further than Stkr.It!

For me, it was one of those “You had me at QR code” moments. But here is what is so great. The application goes so much farther than just a holiday card. Imagine the quilt your grandmother made you also being able to play an audio clip she recorded for you. Or your scrapbook page coming to life with video instead of card stock.

I don’t quite understand how they do it, but it appears easy to use. When you purchase a set, it includes a set number of stickers or fabric squares. The maximum file size is 50 MB or approximately 2 minutes of video. The best part: messages are stored for a lifetime. Prices range $2.99 to $9.99 depending on which set you select.

I recently got around to framing and hanging prints I had for my office. As I considered what I had, I realized I wanted to add a few more items and make a larger arrangement of frames. Thank goodness for the Labor Day sale at Joann’s! I was able to get all the frames and the reproduction canvas for 60% off. Here’s a breakdown of the art, including free printables for you. Enjoy!

And – hanging this frames was so easy using my new favorite tool…Command Strips for picture hanging! They have these great plastic gripper/velcro things so once you’ve got them placed on the wall, you can easily lift and adjust. Brilliant.

My take on the app: If you have any knowledge to share that can be titled “How To:” and that can be shared using photos or videos, this is an app you should check out. It truly makes creating a tutorial easy. Whether you shoot your photos and video prior to making the guide, or shoot them during, it coaches you through each step. It even prompts you to add a “supplies” list.

While most are using this for tangible how-to’s, I think the possibilities are endless. Imagine using it for social media tutorials like “how to change your privacy settings” or even “how to create an infographic using _____.” I believe this app qualifies for the “social media” category because of the interactions you can have with other users around content. It seems like a logical companion for posting your original content on Pinterest as well.

And, based on my simple initial guide, the results (views and likes) are higher than my Pins, many blog posts and RTs. It seems like those are metrics not to be ignored.

Have you already used SnapGuide? What type of guide did you create? Is this your time hearing about (yet another) new social media tool? Will you give it a try?

Recently, my coworker gifted me allowed me to snag two, matching lamps from her trunk on the way to Goodwill. I offered to pay her but she gave them to me for free. Mark the start of a great, inexpensive DIY project!

I knew I wanted to use these on the nightstands in our master. We want to give our room a mini-makeover and this is a great first step. Since I’d already picked out fabrics for the makeover, I quickly knew the colors I’d use for the lamps. If you remember my fan redo, you know I’m not afraid of a little color. 🙂

What you’ll need:

Ugly lamps. Ha!

1/2 yard of fabric for each lampshade

Aluminum foil

1 can of spray primer

1 can of spray paint

Paper – large sheet or roll of contact paper

1 can of spray adhesive

Hot glue

The Base

Step 1: Put aluminum foil on all the parts you want to keep paint-free, like the electrical areas and parts of the lampshade that may show in the end. (I didn’t quite accomplish this as you’ll see in later pictures.)

Step 2: Prime your metal base and the metal on your lampshades. I prefer to use a gray primer when covering with any color.

Step 3: Spray away! Dry. And spray away again. Side note: This project was the first time I used Valspar “the perfect finish” gloss interior/exterior spray paint with “easy-spray technology”. I have to say I loved the application the nozzle gave. First, I didn’t have to battle with a cap that you “squeeze and pull off”; instead, you just turn it. It might not be ideal for all applications since it gives a very wide almost mist-like application. I loved it though because it prevented me from getting streaks and gave a much more even application.

The Lampshade

Step 1: Prep the shade by removing any trim.

Step 2: If your shade has a paper or plastic shade with fabric already over it, cut the fabric being careful not to damage the shade. The fabric should then peel off fairly easily. (In my case, I had a plastic shade with pleated fabric that was stuck on with spray adhesive.) If your shade is only fabric or doesn’t leave you with a shade to work with, this blogger offers a great tutorial on making your own shade with the top and bottom rings only.

Step 3: Make the pattern for your new fabric. (This is the point I found the most difficult.)

Layout your paper. I found that contact paper worked well because I needed a wide paper and it was heavy enough to layout and not require pinning.

Place your shade on the paper and carefully trace the top ring as your roll the shade around completing a full rotation. (I used the seam as my start and end point.)

Place the shade back at the starting point and trace the bottom ring as you did for the top.

You now have two curves (top and bottom rings) that you should connect with straight lines essentially creating a “C” shape.

Cut out your custom pattern. (And pat yourself on the back!)

Step 4: Place your pattern on the wrong side of your fabric. Cut around the pattern giving yourself .5″ to 1″ extra on all sides.

Step 5: (Having removed the pattern) Spray the wrong side of your fabric with spray adhesive.

Step 6: Place your fabric around your ‘naked’ lampshade. I found it very helpful to have an extra set of hands at this point. Thankfully, my husband was a willing helper.

Step 7: Fold over the unfinished edge and glue down with hot glue to create your seam.

Step 8: Around the top and bottom rims, fold the unfinished sides over and up inside your shade. Use hot glue to secure.

I couldn’t love my finished product more! It has dramatically improved my nightstand that went from this…

I’ve mentioned that my family is very into creating traditions and making memories. One tradition that I’ve done every year since we were married is to create a Shutterfly photo calendar. Shutterfly has come a long way in improving the options since our first calendar seven years ago.

There are many great templates and designs to choose from and you can even customize the actual calendar page with important dates and photos. We have a big family so I’m able to put all our important birthday and anniversaries on there and fill the date with a photo of the person we celebrate.

Each month, the kids are super excited to “turn the page” and see the memories on the new month. We use it as a way to look back and be grateful for the wonderful things we’ve been able to do together. For example, January 2012 features photos and memories from January 2011.

If you’re feeling inspired, now is the time to make your own! Shutterfly has an “up to 40% off” sale through January 11 and if you use code SHIP30, you get free shipping on orders over $30. Our 2012 calendar is already on it’s way!

Today, I had the privilege of hosting a “meet the baby” shower for my little sister and her newest little love. It was a bit non-traditional in that the man-of-the-hour is four-weeks old and was present. This was her second and they were keeping the gender and name a surprise until his arrival so it made sense to wait until after to have the shower. They didn’t need anything immediately and the extra time allowed her to figure out what she did in fact need with baby number two.

With the time of year, we decided to go with a “Meet the Little Pumpkin” theme. Everything from invites, to decor, to shower ‘game’ reflected the theme.

There was even a pumpkin gift! My mom knitted baby boy a pumpkin hat. So sweet!

This was a really fun theme to work with and I used a lot of Pinterest inspiration to decorate my home – from decor to food. If you’re interested in doing something similar, here is the list of ‘ingredients’ for the party.

Party Punch – modified from original recipe, which tends to be red. Instead, use Hawaiian Punch orange, Apple Juice, and Fresca.

Seasonal Candies and Cookies

Mixed Nuts

Decorations

Artificial Pumpkins – various sizes and shapes

I spray painted some pumpkins and added embellishments like ribbon (for plaid pumpkins inspired by this), leaves, felt flowers, and thumbtacks to decorate the pumpkins. (The thumbtacks were used to create the monogram that was used on the paper items like invitations and was inspired by this.) Shopping end-of-season sales and the dollar store as well as leftover craft supplies, my total cost for these pumpkins was around $45.

Wine Bottle Candles

I spray painted used wine bottles with chalkboard paint and wrapped them with burlap of varying widths.

Various Glass Vases and Candleholders

Because I was hoping to use these decorations for my Fall decorating in the future, I took old glass vases and a few I purchased at the dollar store and sprayed them using a Coppery tone, Silver and with Looking Glass paint. I also used the Looking Glass spray paint on the underside of dollar store plates and bowls that were used as serving dishes. (I am in LOVE!) And of course, I had to use at least one more pin as inspiration for glass candle holders.

Twigs

Pick them up from your yard, or look at craft stores for sales! I picked up two bundles for the price of one.

Fabrics and Burlap

Knowing the fabrics wouldn’t just be used for this shower (ideally), I picked fabrics that matched the colors of the party and were prints I could use for future sewing projects. I also picked a burlap that wasn’t too coarse since it would be on the table and more than likely would be touched.

Game

Wishes – Instead of playing a traditional shower game, we invited guests to complete a list of “wishes” for the baby and sign their name. These were then given to baby’s mom to include in his baby book.

Udder cover. Hooter hider. Boobie blanket. Nursing cover. Call it what you want, but call it easy. And necessary.

My baby sister asked for a cover for her newest little one and I was happy to make her a new one, instead of just lending her mine. Having used mine what seemed like hourly, I knew how important it was to my breastfeeding success. (I’m pretty private so this was more than mandatory.)

Sew Your Own

This project takes only 30-45 minutes to complete and was a total cost of $14.85 at JoAnn’s.

1 yard of fabric. For this project, I chose one that would match her diaper bag and that wasn’t too sheer. Some fabrics are a bit thinner and I’d recommend avoiding those. (If you’re sewing this, you’re obviously interested in modesty and a sheer cover just won’t cut it.) You will end up with 1/4 yard+ of leftover fabric.

D-rings. They are the rings that you can adjust your strap with. You’ll find them in the “notions” section of the fabric store. They are in the shape of a D, hence the name, and come in several metal tones including silver, gunmetal, and gold. I bought the 3/4 inch size in gunmetal so that it matched her fabric.

Corset Boning. It comes in white or black and it comes in different strengths (or stiffness). I chose the one of the stiffer ones at 1/4 inch wide and bought 1/2 yard. By using the boning, you create a nice, stay-open viewing area where you can safely view your nursing baby but maintain all privacy you need.

Thread.

Cut the fabric to 26 x 38 inches. The finished product is 24 x 36 inches (that’s thesize of the original Hooter Hiders). This size is perfect it gives ample coverage around your sides and arms.

Cut the strips for the neck straps. You need two pieces for each strap (total of 4 pieces). Longer strap (x2): 30 inches by 2 wide. Shorter strip (x2; which will hold the D rings): 8 inches long by 2 inches wide.

Step 3

Start with the straps. Begin with your longer strap and place fabric facing. Sew around 3 sides of fabric leaving one end open. Repeat this step with your shorter strips. Then, flip the straps right-side out.

Once the straps are right-side out, take your shorter strap and place your D-rings on one end. Pull the strap through about 1 inch and sew the end down. (This side should face to the back when you attach it to the cover.)

Sew a 1/4″-1/2″ hem around three sides of the larger fabricpiece.

Pin your boning in the center on the fourth, un-sewn side of the fabric.

Step 7

Once that is pinned, also pin the un-sewn edge of your straps in place. Based on experience, straps should be placed slightly in from the end of the boning.

Fold over your fabric and sew down the unfinished edge.

To create a pocket for the boning, sew along the top edge (above the boning). Finish this pocket by sewing vertically at each end of the boning. This rectangle you’ve created with stitches will ensure the boning will stay in place.

At this point, your straps are hanging upside down, so fold them up and sew the straps along the same path as your upper stitch above the boning.

Once this is complete, you’ll be able to insert the longer straps through the D-rings and adjust for comfort. All materials used are washer/dryer safe.

If you’ve made one, any advice for others? If you are inspired to make one after reading this, I’d love to hear how it went for you. Happy breastfeeding!